Sheeted dough transfer conveyer



June 10, 1952 M. A. STICELBER SHEETED DOUGH TRANSFER CONVEYER sSheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 7, 1948 INVENTOR.

MERL/N A. S77CELBER June 1952 I M. A. STICELBER 2,600,281

SHEETED DOUGH TRANSFER CONVEYER Filed Sept. 7, 1948 8 Sheets-Sheet 2 1N1'EN TOR.

MERL/N ,4. ST/CELBER KFM A T TORNEV June 10, 1952 M. A. STICELBIER2,600,281

SHEETED DOUGH TRANSFER CONVEYER Filed Sept. '7, 1948 8 Sheets-Sheet 4'IIIIIIIIIIIIIII J1me 1952 M. A. STICELBER 2,600,281

SHEETED DOUGH TRANSFER CONVEYER Filed Sept. 7, 1948 8 Sheets-Sheet 5Ill/I0,

BY MERL/N A. ST/CELBER W/ZM ' ATTORNEY June 10, 1952 M A. STICELB EETEDDOUGH TRANSFER CONVEYER 8 Sheets-s 6 Filed Sept. 7, 1948 bk MK lll I.

Patented June 10, 1952 2,so0,2s1 v :si'm'srnn DOUGH TRANSFERCONVEYERMerlin A. 'Sticelber, Kansas City, Mo as'signo'r to Stickelber -& Sons,Inc., a corporation of Missouri Application September 1, ioia'sena'l No-48.042 11 claims. (01. 198-84) 1 My invention relates. to sheetingmechanism for dough molding machines, and more particularly to means forsheeting pieces of dough-as a step in forming or molding a loaf ofbread.

.It is a particular purpose of my invention to provide a sheetingmechanism for loai molding machines that isprovided with means foreither reverse sheeting the dough or for straight sheeting thereof,dependent upon the adjustment of the. machine. This is accomplished byproviding suitable conveying means for pieces ofdough in combinationwith means for arresting the movement of the pieces of doughanddeflecting the same downwardly onto conveying means movin in theOpposite direction so as to reverse the. piece of sheeted d ugh so thatthe end that was forwardmost will be rearmost when traveling along thesecond conveying means, and to provide means for varying the speed ofthe first conveying means so that when said conveyin eans is operatin athigh speed the dough piece Will be reversed in the manner referred to,Whereas if the conveying means is run ata relatively slow speed thedough pie e will not en age the arresting and deflect ng means, b tinstead will p ss around the discharge end of the. conveying means insuch a manner thatthe end that was forwardmost on said first conveyingmeans will also be forwardmost on the second conveying means whentraveling along thereon.

The rollers used in my sheeting mechanism for d u mo ding ma in s a e ofthe eneral character described, shown and claimed in my co-pendingapplication Serial vNo. 793,359, on

Dough Sheeting Apparatus and Method, filed December 23, 1947. As pointedout therein, I have found out that dough, no matter how sticky, will notstick to rollers of certain plastic materials or rollers that have adough contacting surface made of certain plastic materials. Theseplastic materials are synthetic resins, and the particular class ofsynthetic resins that have been found to. act in this manner arepolymers of tetrafluoroethylene. The specific material that I have ioundparticularly adaptable for this purpose is a vI) )lytetrafluoroethylenepolymer, which has no true melting point, but undergoes a, solid-phasetransition at 620 F., but at the temperatures at which it is used insheeting dough the strength of the material is not impaired and thematerial is not aifected in any manner by the dough, nor does it haveany effect on the dough that engages the same, except that the doughwill absolutely not stick thereto. This material will not absorb water,is substantially impermeable to moisture and does notun'd'ergp anydetectable change even when exposed to weathering. V a V h Morespecifically my invention comprises dough sheeting means comprising apair of rollers that are made in such a manner 'thatthe'surfaces thereofthat contact the dough are of theabove referred to synthetic resin thathas the nonsticking properties and with which dough-piece guiding meanscooperateto feed the dough pieces flrst into engagement with saidrollers and then from said rollers to a conveyor belt, which carries thedough pieces one at a time to a deflecting device, into engagement withwhich the dough pieces are projected from the discharge end of theconveyor belt, when operating at high speed, to deposit the pieces ofdough flatly on "a conveyor belt operating in the opposite direction andbelow said first mentioned conveyor belt and'to provide means forfeeding the dough pieces from said last mentioned conveyor belt intoapair of rollers similar to the first pair of rollers from which saiddough piece is fed to a second pair of rollers, means' being providedfor guidingthe dough pieces from the first set of rollers to a secondset of rollers located below said first set, and further to providemeans for guiding'the dough pieces from said lower set of rollers to aconveyor belt that carries the dough pieces to suitable curlingmechanism, all said guiding means for dough pieces being of suchacharacter that the same do not engage with any of the rollers so that nofrictional heat will be created,

'as would be the case if scrapers engaged with said rollers.

By the operation of the upper of the'belt conveying means above referredto at high speed. the dough piece is caused to travel back in theopposite direction, from that in which it passed along the flrsto'rupper conveyor belt, as it passes along the lower conveyor belt, andthus the edge that was leading along the upper conveyor belt will betrailing along the lower conveyor belt, then the lower sheeting rollerswill sheet the piece of dough reversely from that in which itwas sheetedby the upper set of rollers. However, by adjusting the machine so as tooperate the upper conveyor belt at a much lower speed, approximatelyhalf that of the high speedoperation thereof, the dough pieces will notbe projected against the deflecting means at the discharge end of theconveyor, but will follow the conveyor belt around the roller at itsdischarge end and thus turn over as the pieces are transferred fromtheone conveyor belt to the other, but the leading 3 edge on the lowerconveyor belt will be the same as it was on the upper conveyor belt, andaccordingly the sheeting action performed by the lower sets of rollerswill be in the same direction as the first set of rollers, which iscommonly referred to as straight sheeting.

Specifically my invention comprises a pair of conveyor belts, onearranged above the other and operating in opposite directions, the upperconveyor belt receiving sheeted pieces of dough and the speed of saidupper conveyor belt being variable so as to either reverse the piece ofdough as it is transferred from the upper to the lower conveyor belt, sothat it i moving with what had been the trailing edge forward along saidlower conveyor belt, or so that said piece of dough is not reversed inbeing transferred from the upper conveyor belt to the lower conveyorbelt.

It is a further purpose of my invention to provide an adjustabledeflector member for producing the above referred to reversing action,so that said deflecting means can be located in such a manner that thedough pieces discharged from the upper conveyor belt will properlyengage therewith to cause said dough pieces to be arrested in theirforward movement in the direction in which the same had been projectedby said upper conveyor belt and deflected downwardly to the lowerconveyor belt.

Thus in my dough molding machine all of the O advantages of reversesheeting can be obtained, which are principally that there will be nodry forward end edge on the dough piec which end edge would be in thecenter of the loaf when the dough is curled up on itself, and whichcauses development of holes and white spots in the baked loaf, butinstead the moisture will be squeezed to the surface of the dough pieceso as to provide moisture at the surface of the rear or sealing end edgeof the piece when it is sealed or rolled up as well as at the forwardend edge. Also the advantage of not using excessive amounts of dustingflour exists, and in addition to that the temperature of the piece ofdough is not materially raised during the sheeting operation, becausethe sheeting rollers are not heated up, as is the case when scrapersengage the same, as has been customary before my improved plasticsurfaced rollers were developed.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will appear as thedescription of the drawings proceeds. I desire to have it understood,however, that I do not intend to limit myself to the particular detailsshown or described, except as defined in the claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view through my improved sheetingapparatus for dough molding machines, the dusting flour feeders beingomitted.

Fig. 2 i a side elevational view thereof, the discharge end of thedelivery conveyor being omitted.

Fig. 3 is a similar view of the opposite side of the machine to thatshown in Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view through the first set ofsheeting rollers and portions of the conveying apparatus cooperatingtherewith, on an enlarged scale.

Fig. 5 is a similar view of the lower pairs of sheeting rollers andconveying means cooperating therewith.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of the dough piecetransfer means, showing the discharge end portion of the upper conveyorbelt and the corresponding portion of the cooperating lower conveyorbelt and the deflecting stop means for the dough pieces discharged fromthe upper conveyor belt.

Fig. 7 is an end elevation of the deflecting stop member and themounting therefor, partly broken away, a fragmentary part of theconveyor belt being shown in elevation.

Fig. 8 is a section taken on the line 8-8 of Fig. 5, partly broken away.

Fig. 9 is a section taken on the line 3-9 of Fig. 5, partly broken away.

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary section taken on the line Ill-I0 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 11 is a fragmentary section taken on the line I I-l I of Fig. 4,and

Fig. 12 is a fragmentary sectional view of the driving means, on anenlarged scale, taken on the'line l2l2 of Fig. 2.

Referring in detail to the drawings, my improved sheeting mechanism fordough molding machines comprises a housing having side walls and 2t andend walls 22 and 23. The side walls have reduced upper ends providingoflsets 24 therein. An inclined wall portion 26 extends upwardly fromthe end wall 23 to the top of the side walls 20 and 2! and there is atop wall 2! that extends to a feed opening 28 in the top of the machine,said feed opening being located between the top edge of the inclinedwall 26 and th depending flange on the top wall 21. The entire machineis, preferably, mounted portably, casters 29 being provided on thebottom flanges 30 of the housing for thi purpose.

Rounded dough pieces are fed through the opening 28 into the machine anda hopper is provided aligning with the opening 28, said hopper havingvertical side walls 3! having outwardly flared upper end portions 3| anddownwardly converging end walls 32 and 33, the end wall 32 having avertical lip portion 34 that extends downwardly between the flanges 35on the flanged roller 36. The hopper has laterally extending walls l3extending to the side walls 20 and 2| and is mounted between said sidewalls by means of depending flanges l1 and headed fastening elements (8,reinforcing ribs 31 extending between said side walls 20 and 2| and theside walls 3| of the hopper. A downwardly tapering hopper 38 is thusprovided. which feeds the dough pieces between the roller 36 that has thflanges 35 and the roller 39, which cooperates therewith to sheet dough,or in other words, to roll out the rounded pieces of dough into asheet-like form.

The roller 36 has a metal body portion 49 mounted on the shaft 4! torotate therewith and has an outer tubular or sleeve-like portion 42 of asynthetic resin that has the property that dough will not stick theretofixed on the metal core so as to rotate with said metal core. A ply d3of said synthetic resin also overlies each of the flanges 35 on theinner face thereof with Which dough will contact. The roller 39 also hasa metal body portion 44 fixed on the shaft 45 and an outer cylindricalor tubular ply 46 of the synthetic resin having the above referred toprop erty. The hopper side walls 3! are cut away on an are 41 so as toclear the outer periphery of the ply 43 of the flanges 35 and are inalignment with said flange portions of the roller 36. .The inclined wall33 is cut away to provide an opening at 68, through which the roller 33projects. The rollers 36 and 39 rotate in the directions indicated bythe arrows thereon and the roller 39 is adjustable toward and away fromthe roller 36 in a manner to be described below.

55 lTherbottomeedge .ofzthe wallifiiand thelbottom edge :of the slip :34ear-e :spaced :sufiiciently from '.:the surface of .T-the :rollers 39:-and.-.38 that there .willbe .no. frictionallcontactrbetweenthe surfaceaofgsaidroliers'and-the hopper walls.

Dough; deflecting qguide :plates its; and .53 ..are provided :adjacent.therollers :35 sand 39,..said uide; platesthaving lips :I and .52thereon that are =..directed :toward the .:-surfaces of the .rollers,but are spaced sufiiciently therefrom ithat .there vwill:bane:frictional contact between .the said lips andrsurfaces :of .the rollersadjacent which the same-are.located,*said ,defiectonmembers 43 andfiii'not serving the. function. of a. scraperiatralhand -havinsrn israpingen a ement:witnthemoliers, riblltimerely;scryingrasz deflecting or:guiding'means for Gthe :idough ;pieces :to .turn .the dough .pieces.-1awayifrorn:the .surfacesof .lthe;ro1lers in casesaid dough g'piecesshould have :;a tendency "rto'iollow itheisurfaces :of the;rollers 3Band 39. around he- ;yondithe :point where. said deflecting .means arelocated. Said deflecting means will direct the dou h. pieces downwardlyontoiaconveyor. belt 53, theupperrunof'which operates in the directionof thearrow 'shownin Figs. .1, .4 and 6. The deflecting guide plates 49and 50 are mounted in.slots 54: and 55 in the bars 5t and 51, whichextend transversely of the machine. The bar fibextendsbetween the sideplates 23 and 2| and .is provided with screw threaded openings 53inthe'ends thereof engaged by the screw-threaded headed fastening elements58 that extend through aligning openings in :the side plates, themounting of said bar 56 on the side plate 2! being :shown in Fig..10.

The roller 83 has its shaft 45 extending be .yond the ends thereof andsaid shaft ismounted in .adjustable bearing blocks 55), which aremounted in slots GI inthe side plates and ii. and are-guided byengagement with suitable anglemembers -62 extending lengthwise of saidslots 'andfixe'd to the side wallsjZIl and 2]. Flanges 163'..areprovided on the bearing blocks "68 which engage .the inner faces of thewalls 28 and El adjacent the slots SI. As :all the bearing blocks forall theadjustablerollers in the machine :are duplicates the samereference numerals are applied to allthereof. The rod-like member 5'I'ismounted in openings in ears 85 on one of the flanges '63 and held infixed position, as will be described below.

The bearing blocks 63 are also provided with bosses 67 in which therendsof adjusting-screws Stand 68' are screw-threadedlyengaged. Saidadjusting screws 68 and '58 have flanges "69 thereon that engage bars'66 :fixed'to the side walls .28 and El. .The screw-threaded members 68:and 53 are of different lengths, the members E8 beingshorter than themembers 68 and bein adjusted along with the members 68 .in a manner tovbe described below. Said screws 68 .have knurled heads or hand wheels"10 bymeans of which the same are rotated to adjust the :position oftheshaft and thus "of the roller 39 in-a manner to bedescribed below.Itwill be noted that the bar 5'! is fixed to the ears 65 by means of setscrews I60 (see Fig. 8). vThe guide plate 5d moves with the bearingblocks and thus the relationship of the guide member to the roller 39will be the'same. for'anyadjusted position of said roller.

The conveyor belt 53 extends over a roller II mounted on a shaft I2 andalso operates over a roller I3, which is mounted on a shaft 14 that ismounted-in'suitable bearingsinblocks I5 that 6 havescrewdameacedensas mnt?with-thescr w- .threadedmembers I51: that-fare rotatablyiniountedears II projecting from thesideplates inland 2 I,saidlscrew-threaded.=members havingipclyg 78 thereon. The side walls. 20"and 1-21; are .prO-

vided with .slots .13 to. permit adjustmentzofwthe shaft 14 and -thus'ofthe'eonveyori roller:13.

The shaft 72 is mounted in suitable :bearings provided on thesid'eplates '20 andxZI ,=s uch .asithe bearing 64 shown o'nth'e sideplateiZ I;.in.Fig..-11-2, and has a pair of pulleys iiil'and 8|flxeidonthe end thereof thatproje'cts beyond the-sidelplatelzl. A belt82 toperates over the pulley Snow-8|, as the case may be, and over the'icorres'ponding pulley 83 or at fixed on the main drive "shaft 85,being shown on the pulleys 8 I. andMl-inFi'gs. 2 and12. "Said main driveshaft has arpulley-afi fix'ed'thereto o'verwhich a belt 81operates,'whi'ch ,belt 81 .also extends iover=thepulley 88 on the 30 ior the pulleys BI and '84, as will'be explained below and for thepurpose to be explained below.

A sprocket IE5 is also fixed on the shaft 85, over which the sprocketchains-l operates, said sprocket chain also operating over a sprocketwheel 95 which is fixed on a shaft 98, which has a sprocket fixedthereto over which the sprocket chain 9'8. operates. Said sprocket chain'9! opcrates over the sprockets 98, 9 and IE3. The shaft '85 and thusthe pulley 8'4 and the sprockets mounted on the shaft rotate in thedirection indicated by the arrow'in Fig. 2, which causes the sprockets93 and 99 to rotate in the direction indicated by the arrows thereon inFig. 2.

The sprocket 98 is mounted on a shaft I01 that also has a sprocketmounted thereon to rotate therewith, over which the sprocket chain Hi2operates, which operates over a sprocket I03 fixed on the shaft It l,which also has a sprocket H35 fixed thereon over which the sprocketchain I06 operates, the sprocket chain I96 operating over the sprocketIE1, which is fixed on the shaft 45, the sprocket it? and the sprocketlfifi'thus rotating in the direction indicated by the arrows, on saidsprockets in Fig. 2. The sprocket 99 is fixed on a shaft 598 that alsohas aspro'cket fixed thereto, over which the sprocket chain I09operates, whichin turn operates over a sprocket no fixed on the shafton, that also has'the sprocket I I2 fixed thereto, over which thesprocket chain H3 operates, the sprocket chain H3 operating over thesprocket wheel I l4,"which is fixed on the shaft M, the sprockets IM andH2 thus rotating in the direction indicated by the arrow on the sprocketH6 in Fig. 2. "It-will accordingly be seen that the shafts e'S'and- Mrotate in opposite directions and thus the rollers 39 and 33 rotate inopposite directions, as indicated by the arrows thereon in Fig. 4, andit will further be noted that said rollers being of the same outsidediameter and rotating at the same rate will rotate at the same surfacespeed.

Fixed on the shaft 83 is a sprocket H3. Since the sprocket wheel 95rotates in the direction of the arrow indicated in Fig. 2, the sprocketchain I20, operating over the sprocket HQ and operating over the idlersprocket I2I and the sprocket I22, will rotate the sprocket I22 in aclockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 2, thus rotating the shaft I23 andthe roller I2 3 fixed on said shaft in a clockwise direction as viewedin Fig. l, the conveyor belt I operating over the roller I24 thus havingthe upper run thereof traveling in the direction indicated by the arrowin Figs. 1, 4 and 6. The conveyor belt I25 also operates over the rollerI26, which is adiustably mounted so as to provide the proper tension onthe conveyor belt I25 in a similar manner to the roller I3, the shaftI21 on which said roller I25 is mounted being mounted in bearing blocksI28 screw-threadedly connected with the members I29, which are rotatablymounted in ears I30 and have heads I3I thereon serving the same purposeas the screwthreaded members I3 mounted in the ears IT with the heads I8thereon above described. Slots I32 are provided in the side members 23and 2! to permit adjustment of the shaft I 21.

It will accordingly be seen that the upper run of the conveyor belt I25travels in the opposite direction of the upper run of the conveyor belt53. The sheeted dough pieces that pass from between the rollers 33 and39 will travel along the upper run of the conveyor belt 53 toward theend thereof passing over the roller I3 and will be discharged from thatend of the conveyor belt. When the belt 82 is mounted on the pulleys 83and 83 the shaft I2 will travel at a much higher rate of speed than whenthe belt 82 is mounted on the pulleys 8i and 84 and said rate ofrotation of the shaft I2 will be such that the conveyor belt 53 willtravel substantially twice as fast as when the belt 82 is on the pulleys3I and 84 and as a result the sheeted dough pieces will be projected atconsiderable momentum from the end of the conveyor having the conveyorbelt 53 at which the roller i3 is located. By providing means forarresting the movement of the dough pieces so projected from the end ofthe conveyor that is provided with said conveyor belt 53, said doughpieces will be caused to drop substantially vertically downwardly ontothe conveyor belt I25.

The means for stopping such dough pieces and deflecting the samedownwardly onto the conveyor belt I25 in a substantially verticaldirection comprises a deflector plate I33, which is provided with adepending flange I33 at one end thereof and side flanges l35, as well asan upwardly obliquely extending lip I36. Said deflector plate I33 ismounted so as to be adjustable relative to the conveyor belt 53 so thatsaid deflector plate and its depending stop flange I36 will be properlylocated to transfer the sheeted dough pieces from the conveyor 53downwardly to the conveyor 325 so that the end of the dough piece thatwas rearrnost as it was traveling along the conveyor 53 becomes theforward edge of the dough piece as it travels along the conveyor beltI25.

The means for adjustably mounting the deflector plate I33 on the machinecomprises a transversely extending bar or rod I31, which is mountedbetween the side walls 20 and 2I and which is provided with a transversebore I33 therethrough, in which the rod-like plate supporting member I39is longitudinally slidably mounted. Said rod-like member I39 is held inadjusted position by means of a thumb screw I40 engaging the same andhaving a screwthreaded portion MI that engages in a screwthreaded borein the rod-like member I31 extending transversely to the opening I38 andintersecting the same (see Figs. 6 and 7) Said rodlike member I39 has abracket I42 fixed to the lower end thereof, which is provided with apair of cars I43 that extend on opposite sides of an upstanding ear I44provided on the deflector member I33. Said ear I34 is provided with aplurality of openings M5 spaced along the length thereof, the ear I44extending lengthwise of the deflector plate I33. A screw-threaded headedmember, such as the bolt I46, extends through aligned openings in theears M3 and a selected one of said openings I45 and has a nut I47provided thereon for clamping the ear I34 between the ears Hi3, saidears I43 having sufficient resiliency to permit this. It will be obviousthat the elevation of the deflector plate I33, as well as its positionlengthwise of the conveyor 53 and its angular position or inclinationcan be adjusted by the adjusting means provided by means of theconnection between the rod-like member I 37 and the rod-like member I39, as well as the connection between the ear I44 and the bracket I42.

The dough pieces that are traveling along on the conveyor belt I25 willtravel with said conveyor belt toward the right as viewed in Fig. l andwill pass off the conveyor belt I25 where it passes around the rollerI24 to additional sheeting rollers, which are similar to the rollers 35and 39, there being an upper and a lower pair of sheeting rollersprovided, the upper pair of rollers comprising a flanged roller I 38,which is constructed in the same manner as the roller 33, and anunilanged roller I49, which is constructed in the same manner as theroller 39, except that the roller 39, preferably, has the surfacethereof provided with grooves 226 to provide means for gripping therounded dough pieces to positively pull the same into cooperativerelation with the rollers 33 and 39. The lower set of rollers comprisesa flanged roller I53, also similar to the roller 33, and an unfiangedroller I 5|, also similar to the roller 39. As the detailed constructionof the rollers I48 and IE0 is the same as the roller 36 and the detailedconstruction of the rollers Hi9 and I5I is the same as that of theroller 39, except that these do not have the grooves 223, the samereference numerals are applied to the corresponding parts of the rollers36, I48 and I53, and the corresponding parts of the rollers 33, I49 andI5I. The rollers Hi8, HIS, I50 and IEI rotate in the direction indicatedby the arrows provided thereon in Fig. 5.

In order to direct the sheeted pieces of dough traveling along theconveyor belt I25 and discharged therefrom properly into cooperativerelation with the upper pair of sheeting rollers I48 and I49, guidingmeans are provided, comprising guide plates I52, which are shown more indetail in Figs. 5 and 9, said guide plates being substantially inalignment with the linings 43 of the flanges on the roller I48, as willbe obvious from Fig. 9, and each having a concavely curved edge portionI53 spaced slightly from the peripheral suitable bearings provided onthe side plates 20 and 2I of the housing, and an adjustable roller I88mounted on the shaft I89, said shaft I89 being adjustable in a similarmanner to the shafts l4 and I2! by means of the screw-threadedconnection between the bearing blocks I90 and screw-threaded members I9I, which are mounted in a similar manner to the screw-threaded member I3in suitable ears I92 on the side plates 20 and 2| and have heads I93thereon by means of which said screw-threaded members can be rotated,slots I94 being provided in the side plates to permit adjustment of thebearing blocks and thus the shafts I89 to tension the belt I19.

The means for holding the adjustable rollers in fixed position on theshafts on which the same are mounted is shown in Fig. 9, the shaft I04being shown as being provided with tapering openings I95 therein thatalign with tapering openings I93 and I91 in the metallic body portion 44of the roller and tapering pins I98 are driven in said aligning taperingopenings to fix the body portion 44 to the shaft. The outer sleeve-likesynthetic resin member 43 is fixed to the body portion 44 to rotatetherewith by means of clamping rings I99 that seat in recesses 299 inthe ends of the tubular member 46 and which are held in clampingengagement therewith by means of the screw-threaded fastening elements20f that engage in screw-threaded openings in the end walls of the bodyportion 44.

In a similar manner, shown in Fig. 11, the ring-like member 35, which isa flange forming member, holds the inner facing 43 of said syntheticresin on said flange in clamping engagement with the body portion 40 ofthe flanged roller, the body portion 49 being secured to the shaft onwhich it is mounted in the same way as the body portion 44. Asleeve-like member 42 of synthetic resin is clamped between the facings43 by means of the rings 35, secured in clamping position by means ofthe threaded headed securing elements 202, which are provided with heads203 that are countersunk in the outer faces of the 1 causing therollers, including their synthetic resin facings, to rotate as a unitwith the shafts upon which the same are mounted.

The shafts on which the adjustable rollers are mounted are all mountedin the same manner in the bearing blocks 50, said bearing blocks beingprovided with ball bearings 2 34, which are mounted in suitable recesses295 in said bearing blocks 60, as shown in Fig. 9, and said shafts areheld from endwise movement in their bearings by means of the collars293, which are fixed on said shafts in any suitable manner. The shaftsof the flanged rollers are all mounted in the same manner on the sideplates 20 and 2|, the ball bearing mounting members 201 being providedthat have recesses 208 therein, in which the ball bearings 209 aremounted, as shown in Fig. 8. Said mounting members 29'] are secured tothe side plates 29 and 2I by means of suitable headed screw-threadedfastening elements 2 I9. The shafts I2, 96, I23 and H2 are provided withsimi lar ball bearings mounted in suitable ball bearingmounting members2I I', as is also the shaft 85, said ball bearing mounting members 2being secured to the side plates in a similar manner to the mountingmembers 201, as shown in Fig.

12, headed screw-threaded securing elements 2 I2 being shown in Fig. 12for securing said ball bearing mounting members in position.

While dusting flour can be dispensed with in my improved sheetingapparatus, it may be found desirable by some bakers to apply dustingflour to the conveyor belts, and for this purpose a dusting flour feeder2I3 is provided, which is operated by means of an oscillating lever 2 I9that is adjustably connected with an operating rod 2I5 that is connectedwith an eccentric 2I8 mounted on the shaft 4I, the adjustment of theconnection between the oscillating lever ZId and the rod 2I5 determiningthe amount of dusting flour supplied to the conveyor belt I25. A similardusting flour feeding member 2I'I may be provided for feeding dustingflour to the paired rollers I48 and I49 and thus to the rollers I59 andI5 I, an oscillating arm 2I8 on the feeding member 2II being adjustablyconnected with the rod 2I9 that is connected with an eccentric 229mounted on the shaft III. Means may also be provided for feeding dustingflour to the conveyor belt I10, comprising a feeding member 22I, whichis similarly actuated by means of the oscillating lever 222 adjustablyconnected with the rod 223, which is in turn connected with theeccentric 224 mounted on the shaft I98.

The synthetic resin that is employed in the tubular members 42 and 43and the disk-like facings as is a synthetic resin that has thecharacteristic that dough will not stick thereto, and is rigid andunyielding, the particular material that has been found most adaptablebeing a polytetrafiouroethylene polymer, such as described in the patentto Plunkett, 2,230,654, patented February 4, 1941. It has also beenfound that another synthetic resin, polyethylene, such as described inthe patent to Fawcett, 2,153,553, patented April 11, 1939, can be used,as it has similar properties at room temperatures.

In operation the rounded pieces of dough are fed through the openings 28into the hopper 38 and pass between therollers 36 and 39 to be sheeted.The guide members 49 and 50 direct said sheeted pieces of dough onto theconveyor belt 53 and said sheeted pieces of dough pass along saidconveyor belt toward the roller I3, being discharged from said conveyorat the end thereof provided with said roller I3. If the belt 53 isoperating at high speed, which is the case when the belt 82 is mountedon the pulleys 93 and 80, then the sheeted dough pieces will bedischarged from the conveyor belt 53 against the flange I34 of thedeflector plate I33, which has been previously adjusted so as to be inproper position for such engagement of said dough pieces with saidflange I34. As a result the dough pieces will drop substantiallyvertically downwardly onto the conveyor belt I25 and the end that wasforwardmost when traveling along the conveyor belt 53 will be rearmostwhen traveling along the conveyor belt I25. The dough pieces travelingalong the conveyor belt I25 are discharged into the space between theguide plates I52 and into engagement with the sheeting rollers I48 andI49 and travel downwardly between said rollers and toward the rollersI50 and I5I, being guided into engagement with the rollers I59 and I5Iby means of the guide plate I62 and the guide member 50. The doughpieces that pass from the sheeting rollers I53 and I5I to the conveyorbelt I79 are guided into engagement with said conveyor belt by means ofthe guide members 49 and 50. The end of the dough piece that wasforwardmost on. theconveyor. belt. I; will stills-be. fore. wardmost onthe. conveyorbelt. H111 and willlp out of the machine, and ontoa. table.I82 onsaicl conveyor belt i111, from which it is transferred to.suitable curling mechanism, if such is not provided on the table. I82.

The above described operation oi the machine willv result inthereversesheetipg otthedqueh. pieces. or sheeting of. thedoughpiecesina reverse direction by thercllers H48 andJ-tfl alldthe rollers. I50.and. I51. tgthat in which thesarne were sheeted by'the rollers-am 39.Hqwever, if thebelt B2 is a usted to. operate over thepulleys Hand 84,then the .conveyorbelt 5,3.willtravel at aspeed approximatelyv half.that. at, which... it traveled while. the. belt 82. was .onthe pulleys.8e and '83. As a result .thesheeted pieces cn..d0u.gh, when reachingthepositiorr Where; the. belt53 passesaround, theroller 13,. willfollow-the. curvatureof thebeltaround theerollerande iliypass.

with; the forwardmostend, thereof firstL into; ene

asement'with the conveyor. belt. .125 and he. n.d.. ofthesheeted dough,piece thatlwas rorivardmost on-the belt 53. will remain .forwardmostonthebelt I25 as each dough.piecetrayelsalong. withthe; conveyor. belt.I 2 5.to Wl1er.e. the .samepasses. pver. the.v roller I24- and. into.engagementsw-ith. the. rollers I48 and. I49. and. into..- engagement,with

the rollers I50 and :I 5 l. and finallyyintoiengagee.

ment. with. the; conveyor-belt.llfi ina similar. manner. .to thatpreviously described; This will; result. in sheeting-my. the-.rollers.,.3fi.. and. and l48j-and l49,:and I58; and; [Elffillfilhthfl.sameldiamotion, or. what is..ordinarily.reierred tol as.straiehtisheetingi Thus'bvmerely shifting the.

belt 82 the machine can ice-changed .from straight sheeting to reversesheeting operation-,. andgvica. versa,

What I claim is:

1. In a mechanism for reversing-sheeted dough pieces of substantiallyuniform length end for end relative to their direction of travel, a pairof superposedconveyors operating inv opposite direc-- tions, thedischarge end of the upper of said conveyorsbein-g located over and at apoint spaced from. the corresponding endofsthe lower of 7 saidconveyors, means for operating said upper-conveyor atva speed to projectsheeteddough pieces endwise therefrom, and (laugh piece deflecting meansextending over the -dough pieces projected fromvsaidiupperflconveyorand-comprising -arresting means spaced endwise-ofand :beyond said end of said upper conveyor a distanc'e greater than thelengthtof saiddough. pieces and transversing the path of saidiprojecteddough-pieces, whereby said doughpieces, uponengagement-with-saidarresting means and clearance of said upper; conveyor, -aredepositeddirectly on said lower con veyor same side upas on said upper conveyor;

2. ma mechanism-for-reversin'gsheeted dough pieces ofsubstantially-uniform length end for end relative to r theirdirectiornof travel, a pair of superposed conveyors operating inoppositedirections, thedischarge end of the upper of said con- 1'4. men-twithsaid arrestingmeans-andclearancelolts said upper conveyor,arecdepositedudirectlyr on said lower .conveyorsame side up asonsaidrupper conveyor.

3, In a mechanism for reversing sheeted dough, pieces of substantiallyuniform lengthendrfor end relativev to their direction of travel, a,pair of; superposed conveyors :operatingin opposite ,direcg-l tions,.thedischarge. and of. the upper of rsaidcon veyorsbeing located. oyerandat, a pointrspaced from thecorresponding-..-end of. the lowerpofisaidiconveyors, means. for operating saidsuppen con;- veyor at a speed to.project sheeted; dough pieces;- endwisetherefrom, and a deflector plateabove, and overlapping the discharge endof 'said'upperi conveyor and.extending therebeyond having a stop flange.-dependingsthereirom spacedendwise of and beyond saidend ohsaid upper; conveyors a distancegreaterthanthe lengthofzsaid dough; pieces, whereby said.- doughepieces,upomengagel ment with said stop flangeland.clearance.. of-;said upperconveyor, are/deposited directly on said lower conveyor. same side up.as-oni said upper,- conveyor.

4. In a mechanismfor: reversing sheetededough pieces of substantiallyuniformlen'gthendiror end; relative to their. direction of tray-eh apair. of.- superposed conveyorstoperating ingopposite-direca. tions,-the discharge end. of the. :uppertof. said. cone veyors being locatedover and. at .a. pointspaced, from the corresponding: end of theiloweroie'said: conveyors, means: for operating; said; upper-lean?veyor. at a speed tolproject sheeteddough-piecesi endwise therefrom,vand doughipieceri deflecting... means extendingoverv thexloughspiecesiprojecte'd; from said upper-conveyor:- and mounteda for ads,.iustment relative to said: upperconveyor, said,- defiecting meanscomprising arresting-e meansspaced endwise of v and" beyond saidxend. of:said upperconveyor a. distancegreater than therlen th'; of: said doughpieces and transversing; thelpathr of'asaidprojected dough pieces,whereby. said'z. dough pieces, upon engagement wi-thxsaid arrest ingmeans and clearance of saiduppenconveyor,,. are deposited directlyz-onisaid lower-conveyon same side-up as on aid :upper conveyors 5; In-a.mechanism for reversingisheeted dough pieces ofsubstantiallyzuniform.length-end;for.end. relative to their direction oftravel, as pair 'of superposed conveyors operating-inoppositedirecetions, thedischargeend of the upper of said.=con-... veyors beinglocated over and at .a pointeispaced: from the corresponding end of thelower-of'said conveyors, means for -operating' said upper conveyor at -aspeed to project sheeted doughpieces endwise therefrom; and dough piecedeflecting means mounted over and extending-endwise beyond said upperconveyor, means for adjusting theex-tent of said deflecting means beyondand spacing above said upper conveyor, saiddeflecting means comprisingarrestingmeansspaced endwise of and beyondsaid; end} of said upper};conveyor a; distance greater than the length off; said" dou-gh pie'ces;and warmers-agree I path tr said projected co ga pieces wherebysaid dopieces upon engagement-with {said "arrest means-andclearance or saidupper conveyor, are deposited directly on said lower conveyor same sideup as on said upper conveyor.

6; In a mechanism for reversing sheeted dough pieces of substantiallyuniform length end for end relative to their direction of travel, a pairof superposed conveyors operating in opposite directions, the dischargeend of the upper of said conveyors being located over and at a pointspaced from the corresponding end of the lower of saidconveyors, meansfor operating said upper conveyor at a speed to project sheeted doughpieces endwise therefrom, and a deflector plate above and overlappingthe discharge end of said upper conveyor and extending therebeyondmounted for adjustment relative to said upper conveyor having dependingarresting means thereon spaced endwise of and beyond said end of saidupper conveyor a distance greater than the length of said dough pieces,whereby said dough pieces. upon engagement with said arresting means andclearance of said upper conveyor, are deposited directly on said lowerconveyor same side up as on said upper conveyor.

7. In a mechanism for reversing sheeted dough pieces of substantiallyuniform length end for end relative to their direction of travel, a pairof superposed conveyors operating in opposite directions, the dischargeend of the upper of said conveyors being located over and at a pointspaced from the corresponding end orthe lower of said conveyors, meansfor operating said upper conveyor at a speed to project sheeted doughpieces endwise therefrom, and a deflector plate spaced above andoverlapping the discharge end of said upper conveyor and extendingtherebeyond having a stop flange depending therefrom, said deflectorplate being mounted for adjustment lengthwise, vertically and angularlyrelative to said upper conveyor, said stop flange being spaced endwiseof and beyond said end of said upper conveyor a distance greater thanthe length of said dough pieces, whereby said dough pieces,

upon engagement with said stop flange and clear-. ance of said upperconveyor, are deposited directly on said lower conveyor same side up ason said upper conveyor.

8. In a mechanism for transferring sheeted dough pieces of substantiallyuniform length, a

pair of superposed conveyors operating in opposite directions, thedischarge end of the upper of said conveyors being located over and at apoint spaced from the corresponding end of the lower of said conveyors,means for operating said upper conveyor at two different speeds and adeflector plate spaced above and overlapping the discharge end of saidupper conveyor and extending therebeyond having a stop flange dependingtherefrom spaced endwise of and beyond said end of said upper conveyor adistance greater than the length of said dough pieces.

9. In a mechanism for reversing sheeted dough pieces of substantiallyuniform length end for end relative to their direction of travel, a beltconveyor for sheeted dough pieces, a second belt conveyor below saidfirst belt conveyor and operating in the opposite direction, means foroperating said first conveyor at a speed to project sheeted dough piecesendwise therebeyond at the discharge end thereof, the receiving end ofsaid second conveyor extending endwise beyond the discharge end of saidfirst conveyor, and a platelike member at a higher level than said firstconveyor having depending side flanges and a depending transverse flangeagainst which said dough pieces are projected by said first conveyor toarrest movement thereof beyond the discharge end of said first conveyorand cause said dough pieces to drop onto said second conveyor same sideup as on said first conveyor.

10. Means for reversing a sheeted dough piece end for end relative toits direction of travel, comprising an upper belt conveyor, means foroperating said conveyor at a speed to project sheeted dough piecesendwise beyond the discharge end thereof, a lower belt conveyoroperating in the opposite direction to said upper belt conveyor andextending beyond said discharge end, stop means engaged by saidprojected dough pieces to halt projection thereof, and deflecting meanspositioned to limit upward movement of said projected dough pieces, saidstop means and said deflecting means being above the extending portionof said lower belt conveyor.

11. Means for reversing a sheeted dough piece end for end relative toits direction of travel, comprising an upper belt conveyor, means foroperating said conveyor at a speed to project sheeted dough piecesendwise beyond the discharge end thereof, a lower belt conveyoroperating in the opposite direction to said upper belt conveyor andextending beyond said discharge end, stop means engaged by saidprojected dough pieces to halt projection thereof, and deflecting meanspositioned to limit upward movement of said projected dough pieces, saidstop means and said deflecting means being above the extending portionof said lower belt conveyor, the space between said stop means and thedischarge end of said upper conveyor belt below said deflecting meansbeing clear of all obstructions from said deflecting means to the topsurface of said lower conveyor belt.

MERLIN A. STICELBER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file or"this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 534,071 Mitchell Feb. 12, 1895806,869 Burns Dec. 12, 1905 1,541,651 Mattack June 9, 1925 1,657,018Larraburu Jan. 24, 1928 1,794,896- Hauck Mar. 3, 1931 1,829,322 WilliamsOct. 27, 1931 1,856,085 Walters May 3, 1932 1,895,634 Lauterbur et alJan. 31, 1933 1,931,614 Kirchhoff Oct. 24, 1933 2,090,598 Parsons Aug.17, 1937 2,125,859 Liebelt Aug. 2, 1938 2,168,419 Paterson Aug. 8, 19392,275,714 Anetsberger et a1. Mar. 10, 1942 2,373,012 Burdett et a1. Apr.3, 1945 2,425,356 Sticelber Aug. 12, 1947 2,479,864 Rhodes Aug. 23, 19492,541,752 Eddy Feb. 13, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 469,873Great Britain Aug. 4, 1937

